ROH on the road! Kelly introduced the show from Spartanburg, S.C. where ROH recently filmed a DVD release. Kelly stood in the ring with Jim Cornette. Kelly said they were introducing the “Road Rage” concept. Cornette said for the first time ever, they were going to show parts of events on television that were usually only shown on DVD. Kelly said we would see two Proving Ground matches with Haas & Benjamin vs. Elgin & Strong and Lethal vs. T.J. Perkins.
Lethal cut a promo backstage. He said he respected Perkins. Lethal said Perkins wants what he has. Lethal said it isn’t personal and lighting will strike Perkins. Lethal said he would keep the ROH TV title for as long as he lives.
Perkins cut a promo backstage. He said that he and Lethal are very similar. Perkins said he came to ROH to win titles. Perkins said he doesn’t need 20 minutes to prove he deserves the TV Title. Perkins said the lightning will hurt Lethal.
They cut right to the ring for the Perkins-Lethal Proving Ground match with no ring entrances. Perkins got a nice pop from the crowd. Lethal also got a big reaction. The crowd sounds much better than they have for previous television tapings.
1 - - ROH TV Champion JAY LETHAL vs. T.J. PERKINS – Proving Ground match
Kelly ran down the tale of the tape after both men shook hands before the match. Cornette and Kelly are in on commentary this week. Both men locked up and came to a stalemate. Cornette did a good job discussing the differences between both men. The pace picked up and the crowd was hot. Lethal ended up catching Perkins with a backbreaker for a 2 count. Lethal followed up with a back suplex for another 2 count. Perkins caught Lethal with an inside cradle for a nearfall, but Lethal fired back with a springboard handstand elbow drop for a 2 count. Cornette put over that this is something people would see at ROH live events. Lethal tied up Perkins in submission, but Perkins countered and locked in a pendulum submission. He then transitioned it into a bridging pin for a 2 count.
Cornette said McGuinness was visiting family in England, so Kelly was stuck with him. Lethal went for a springboard, but Perkins crotched him. Perkins then hung Lethal upside down in the corner and nailed him with a big dropkick for a 2 count. Kelly pitched to a commercial break.
Kelly hyped ROH’s show during WrestleMania weekend. He brought in Eddie Edwards, who said he was excited for ROH’s two biggest events of the year. Edwards said he didn’t care who he faced.
They came back with Perkins still holding the advantage. Lethal drove Perkins into the corner and nailed him with a chop. Cornette said the burden was on Lethal here to get the win and put away a potential challenger. Perkins regained the advantage and got a chinlock as the crowd tried to rally behind Lethal. Both men exchanged counters. Lethal no-sold a superkick and nailed Perkins with a superkick of his own. Perkins fired right back with a suplex and both men were down.
Both men exchanged blows in the middle of the ring. Lethal finally caught Perkins with a running kick that sent him to the outside. Perkins ran right back into the ring and caught Lethal by surprise with a kick. Lethal tried to return the favor and surprise Perkins by running back into the ring, but Perkins caught him with a powerbomb for a 2 count. The crowd slapped the barriers as both men were slow to get to their feet. They got up and exchanged pinning combinations. Lethal hit the Lethal injection, but Perkins kicked out at the last second. Lethal went up top as the crowd roared. Lethal went for the top rope elbow, but Perkins got his boot up. Lethal fired back on Perkins with a handspring ace crusher, which was also called the Lethal injection for the pin.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Star rating: (***) – This was a very enjoyable back and forth contest. Cornette was great on commentary putting over what was at stake for both men. He also did a good job of putting over that fans would see action like this at an ROH live event. The fans were hot for the action and the atmosphere came across well compared to the footage that has been shot for television.
The crowd chanted for Lethal as a replay of the finish was shown. Both men hugged after the match as the fans applauded.
Kelly pitched to the sights and sounds of “Southern Defiance,” which is what the DVD will be called when it gets released. They showed the fans waiting for the show to start. They also showed people at the merchandise table buying DVDs. Clips of several different matches on the card were shown with fans reacting to the action. The Briscoes were shown taking pictures with fans and signing autographs.
Radican’s thoughts: This was a really good video package that showed what fans experience going to an ROH event live. The fans seemed enthusiastic and the wrestlers were shown interacting with fans. This is a great feature that ROH needs to get across to fans on the fence about going to a show that they should go.
Kelly previewed the Haas & Benjamin vs. House of Truth Proving Ground match.
Kevin Kelly and Jim Cornette were shown at ringside during intermission. Kelly and Cornette ran down what they had seen at the DVD taping so far. Kelly said they were going to show some highlights from Adam Cole vs. Mike Bennett.
Cole was shown in the ring with Bennett. He got a nearfall with a German and the crowd was hot for the action. Bennett fired back with a TKO for a nearfall. Bennett eventually hit the box office slam for the win. The action that was shown from the match looked good.
Kelly hyped the main event again before another commercial for ROHWrestling.com aired.
A commercial aired for ROHWrestling.com.
They came back from break with Kelly and Cornette in the ring with Jack Connor, the GM of the local station in South Carolina. Connor ran down where fans could watch ROH in the area. Kelly pitched to some comments from the participants in the main event.
The House of Truth was shown backstage. Martini said they had nothing to prove tonight. Martini said Strong proves everyday he is wrestling’s greatest athlete. Martini then said Elgin was the Survival of the Fittest winner. Martini said he changes lives forever.
Haas & Benjamin were shown holding the ROH World Tag Team titles. Haas said he was angry tonight and that would be a big problem for House of Truth. Benjamin promised to give House of Truth a beating tonight.
Bobby Cruise did the formal introductions for the WGTT-HOT main event. HOT drew boos from the crowd. Haas & Benjamin got a nice pop from the fans.
They went to a commercial break with Kelly hyping the WrestleMania weekend events. He brought in Jay Lethal. Lethal said he would bring the ROH TV Championship to the shows. Lethal said he was really excited to rock Florida.
Kelly ran down the tale of the tape when they came back from commercial. Strong and Elgin refused to shake hands before the match.
2 - - ROH World Tag Team Champions CHARLIE HAAS & SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. RODERICKS STRONG & MICHAEL ELGIN (w/Truth Martini) – Proving Ground match
Benjamin’s ribs were taped and Strong went right after them during the early stages of the match. Strong hit a big chop, but Benjamin no-sold it and nailed him with a punch. Haas also nailed Strong with a punch from the outside. Benjamin fired up on Strong in the corner and nailed him with a big splash, but ended up hurting his ribs in the process. Strong tagged in Elgin, who went at it with Haas. Haas hit a big dropkick that sent Elgin to the outside. Elgin regrouped on the outside before coming back into the ring. Kelly talked about Elgin winning the Survival of the Fittest Tournament. Cornette followed up with more praise for Elgin, as Elgin drove Benjamin into the corner. Benjamin tried to fight back against Strong and Elgin. Martini provided a brief distraction from the outside, which allowed Elgin to eventually catch him with a powerslam. Kelly pitched to a commercial break.
They came back to the match in progress after the commercial break with Benjamin taking a beating from Strong. Strong focused his attack on Benjamin’s ribs as Martini gloated from ringside. Cornette put over the live experience and mentioned the matches that weren’t shown from “Southern Defiance” would be available soon on DVD. Cornette compared Elgin to Dr. Death Steve Williams as he held Benjamin up in the suplex position. Elgin finally dumped Benjamin to the mat as Cornette put over the impact of the maneuver. Elgin grabbed a bear hug in the middle of the ring. The crowd tried to rally behind Benjamin, who struggled to escape the hold.
Benjamin finally broke free and tried to tag out, but Elgin caught him with a spinebuster. Strong tagged in and continued to work over Benjamin’s ribs. Martini choked Benjamin on the ropes while the ref was tied up with Haas. Strong and Elgin took Benjamin on the outside and continued to work over his ribs while the ref held off Haas. A lot of fans were standing as Strong grabbed a chinlock on Benjamin. The fans began to clap again as Benjamin struggled to his feet. Benjamin fired back, but Strong caught him with a gut buster. Strong struggled to apply the stronghold, but eventually turned it into a Boston crab. Benjamin struggled, but finally got the ropes.
They missed a shot with Benjamin somehow taking Strong down to the mat. Benjamin struggled to tag out. Strong grabbed him, but he fought him off and tagged in Haas, who ran wild on Elgin. Strong ran into the ring, but Haas took him out. Strong ran in and nailed Haas with a forearm, but Haas caught him with a slam. Benjamin ran in and hit a superkick on Elgin. Haas followed up with the Olympic slam, but Strong made the save. Strong and Benjamin went toe-to-toe, but Strong sent him to the outside and took him out with a dive.
Elgin caught Haas with an enzuguri. Elgin hit a big slam on Haas out of the powerslam position after running him into Strong’s knees, but Haas kicked out. Strong hit the sick kick on Haas, but Benjamin made the save. Benjamin went at it with Strong and Elgin. Benjamin caught Elgin with a swinging DDT as the crowd applauded. Haas came back into the ring and draped Strong over the top rope. Benjamin then got a running start and connected with the leap of faith on Strong. Martin tried to come off the top, but Benjamin crotched him and pitched him to the outside. Elgin took out Haas and Benjamin and went up top, but Benjamin caught him with a flip German suplex off the top. Haas then covered Strong for the pin.
Winners: Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin
Star rating: (***1/2) – This was a really good match with Strong and Elgin focusing their attack on Benjamin’s injured ribs. Cornette did a great job of telling the story of the match and what was one the line for all involved. It’s really amazing what can be accomplished when the wrestlers in the ring take the time to tell a story and the announcers sell the story. This was completely enjoyable tag team wrestling. The only thing that bothered me was nothing was brought up about the Briscoes beating Haas & Benjamin for the ROH World Tag Team Titles at “Final Battle.”
Kelly said the “Road Rage” tour would continue next week in North Carolina with footage from “Northern Aggression.”
Overall thoughts: (8.0) – I love the “Road Rage” concept. This week, ROH took footage from the “Southern Defiance” show, which was filmed on Dec. 3 in South Carolina. The show featured two matches from the show as well as highlights from other matches that will be released on DVD in the near future.
The show provided a great look at what ROH fans can expect when they attend a live event. Jim Cornette was great on commentary whether it was putting over the atmosphere of a live event, driving fans to buy the DVD of this entire show when it’s released, or putting over the story of the matches on the show.
It’s amazing to me that ROH can present wrestling like this wear wrestlers slow down and tell good stories, which is in direct contrast to what we saw at the “Final Battle 2011” iPPV, which featured no-selling and unprotected chairshots in two of the big matches featured on the card.
Cornette with the help of Kelly made Perkins come across like someone important during his Proving Ground match against ROH TV Champion Jay Lethal. Cornette and Kelly did the same thing during the main event featuring former ROH World Tag Team Champions Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas in a Proving Ground match against Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin. Cornette put over the story of Benjamin’s injured ribs while doing an incredible job of talking up Elgin as a monster in the ring.
The show also featured a highlight package that showed new fans what it would be like to go to an ROH live event. Wrestlers were shown signing autographs and interacting with fans. People were shown talking up ROH and buying DVDs from the merchandise table. Heck, now I’ve got the jones to go see ROH live.
I can forgive the main event not making sense because the show was presented as a standalone ROH house show with some matches set to be released on DVD being aired on television. I wish Cornette had explained the concept of “Road Rage” a little better just so that fans fully understood why “Final Battle 2011” wasn’t being discussed on this show. Thumbs up.
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